What Griffin did wrong at Time and Banga did right at Mastercard

Sometimes the business context and organizational culture at a company demand that you accelerate your transition into a new role.  And sometimes you can take it a more slowly.  But in every case, you must manage relationship risks from day one.  This is what Mastercard's CEO Ajay Banga got right and what recently outsted Time Inc's CEO Jack Griffin got wrong.
 

In an article in The Washington Post this week, I explain how the root of Griffin's demise was not his decision to significantly change and shock Time's culture.  It was his failure to understand just how dangerous it was to do so and to mitigate that risk.  Click here to read the full article: "Timeless lessons from Time Inc: How Griffin set the stage for his ouster."

Jack Griffin, Patrice Merritt, Fr. Andrew Smal...
Image by hettrick.ben via Flickr
In a separate article in Forbes, I highlight some of the things Banga began doing even before his official start to increase his chance of success.  Click here to read the full article: "Why Preparing in Advance is Priceless: How Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga Planned Ahead for His New Leadership Role".
 
(I'm now contributing a weekly column to Forbes.  Click on "Follow" when you get to the article on Ajay Banga to get the headline and opening paragraph automatically sent to you each week.)
 

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